SF Permits MCP Server

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City and County of San Francisco Daniel Lurie, Mayor
Department of Building Inspection Patrick O’Riordan, C.B.O., Director
INFORMATION SHEET
NO. DA-16
DATE : March 24, 2025
CATEGORY : Disabled Access
SUBJECT : Signage for All-Gender Restrooms (Single-User and Multi-Accommodation)
PURPOSE : The purpose of this Information Sheet is to clarify the requirements of San Francisco
Ordinance 53-16 and California Assembly Bill No. 1723 for signage identifying Single-
User Restrooms, and California Building Code (CBC) requirements for the identification
of All-Gender Multi-User Toilet Facilities and toilet and urinal compartment signage
requirements when urinal compartments are provided in such facilities.
REFERENCE : Current California Building Code Sections (CBC):
- 11B-213.2.1 Unisex Toilet and Bathing Rooms
- 11B-213.2.4 Multi User All-Gender Toilet Facilities
- 11B-216.2 Designations
- 11B-216.8 Toilet Rooms and Bathing Rooms
- 11B-703 Signs
San Francisco Ordinance 53-16: All-Gender Toilet Facilities
California Assembly Bill No. 1732: Required all single-user restrooms in places of public
accommodation to be universally accessible by March 1, 2017.
DISCUSSION :
When located within any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or local
government agency, single accommodation restrooms must not be defined as gender specific within San
Francisco and the State of California. Even though the CBC uses the term “Unisex,” the term “all-gender”
has become the building code standard when providing signs at both single accommodation and multi-
user all-gender restrooms both locally and statewide.
Gender-specific multi-accommodation “women’s” and “men’s” restrooms are still allowed at both the local
and state level. Unlike single-accommodation restrooms, which require all-gender restroom signs, it is up
to the project sponsor and their design team to propose installing multi-accommodation all-gender multi-
user restrooms with the appropriate signs.
TYPES OF SIGNS:
CBC Chapter 11B specifies what signage is required to identify toilet facilities and bathing facilities and
has specific requirements for signage when it is provided.
1. Geometric Signs: The circle, the triangle, and the triangle on top of the circle.
CBC Section 11B-216.8 requires that doorways leading to toilets and bathing rooms be identified by
a geometric symbol. Every toilet facility must have a geometric symbol at the doorway.
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Technical Services Division
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(628) 652-3720 – sfdbi.org

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Section 11B-703.7.2.6 specifies that the women’s room must have a circle, the men’s room must
have a triangle, and all-gender toilet and bathing rooms must have a triangle superimposed over a
circle. These geometric symbols are required to contrast in color with each other and with the surface
upon which they are mounted. On a light-colored door for a men’s room, a dark-colored triangle
would be required. A light-colored door leading to an all-gender toilet facility would require a dark
circle with a light triangle superimposed on top. The circle must have a 12” diameter and the triangle
must have edges 12” in length, with the point of the triangle facing upward. Both the circle and the
triangle must each be ¼” thick.
The signs must be mounted with their horizontal centerline at 58” to 60” above the floor. Where there
is a door, the signs must also be centered within an inch of the left-to-right vertical centerline of the
door.
Geometric symbols shall not be provided with pictograms, text, or braille when the symbol is located
on the door to the toilet or bathing facility. If the room is to be identified by something other than the
required geometric symbol, the sign shall be a tactile sing complying with CBC 11B-216.2 See
Section 2 below. If the geometric symbols are located adjacent to the entrance to a multi-user
restroom without a door, pictograms, raised characters and Braille may be provided on the symbol
as long as they comply with all of the specific requirements for pictograms, raised characters, and
braille in CBC 11B-703. An International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA) is permitted to be located on
geometric symbols to identify the room as accessible.
2. Designation Signs: Signs that identify permanent rooms and spaces.
a. Tactile Signs: Signs that are read by touch, such as raised lettering and braille.
Tactile lettering must be 1/32” thick, raised above the background, all uppercase, 5/8” minimum
to 2” maximum in height, and may not be italic, oblique, script, highly decorative or any other
unusual style. All tactile lettering must be duplicated in braille, left-flush or centered 3/8” to ½”
below the lettering.
Tactile signs must be mounted according to the instructions in CBC Sections 11B-703.4.1 and
11B-703.4.2. These sections require a tactile sign to be mounted adjacent to a doorway with the
bottom of the braille at 48” minimum above the floor and the bottom of the lowest raised letters
no higher than 60” above the floor. The sign must be mounted on the latch side of the door or to
the right-hand side of a doorway without a door. There must be a clear space of 18” by 18” in front
of the sign, and it must be placed outside the swing of any door.
Signs stating “women”, “men”, “family”, “staff only restroom”, “all-gender”, “all-gender multi-user”,
etc., which identify the room, are required to be tactile, with raised characters and braille, and may
also be accompanied by pictograms if desired.
b. Pictograms: Pictures accompanied by tactile characters and braille.
CBC Section 11B-216.2 specifies that when signs are provided to identify permanent rooms or
spaces, the signs shall have raised characters and Braille complying with CBC 11B-703. In
addition, when pictograms are provided, they are required to have tactile characters and Braille
directly below the pictogram.
CBC Section 11B-216.2 specifies that where pictograms are used to identify specific rooms or
spaces, such as the male and female symbols, or the often used symbol of just a toilet; they must
comply with Section 11B-703.6. Along with requirements for non-glare finishes and light-on-dark
or dark-on-light contrast, pictograms must have a field height of 6” minimum without lettering or
braille in the field. The pictograms must have descriptors in raised lettering and braille located
below the 6” pictogram field.
A pictogram is not required to be raised, but it is required to have raised lettering and braille in a
descriptor below the symbol. Because of this, it may not be placed upon a restroom door.
Additionally, the minimum size of the pictogram field will not fit into a 12” triangle, therefore all
“unisex” geometric signs with pictograms contained within them are noncompliant and should not
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be used. When used, pictograms should be placed adjacent to the door and should comply with
the mounting instructions for tactile signage.
It is important to use standard symbols and verbiage for pictogram signage. Many websites offer
pictograms for “gender-neutral” restrooms that are not only improperly sized, but also have
symbols that are often considered offensive by many people. A pictogram sign with the male and
female figure along with a third figure that is comprised of half-female and half-male, can be found
on many websites that offer “ADA” restroom signage. A sign such as this can be very confusing
for those with limited vision. Additionally, many people consider this sign misleading and
somewhat offensive. No pictogram is required for toilet facilities, but if one is used, it is preferred
that it be a simple picture, such as the picture of a toilet or the International Symbol of Accessibility
(ISA). The sign with both male and female figures standing adjacent to each other, that is
commonly used to designate a “unisex” toilet facility, is also allowed in privately funded buildings.
3. International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA) and Directions: Signs that are read visually.
If not all the restrooms in the facility are accessible, the non-accessible restrooms must have
signs directing patrons to the accessible restrooms. The accessible restrooms must have the ISA
(wheelchair symbol) on or next to the door. The ISA shall look like Figure 11B-703.7.2.1; active
ISA figures are not allowed (see below). The ISA symbol does not have to be raised and is
permitted to be located on the geometric all-gender door symbol.
Below are a few examples of appropriate signage for “All-Gender Restrooms”:
Signs such as the ones below would not be allowed because they are either difficult to read or
are considered by some to be offensive.
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Patrick O’Riordan, C.B.O. Date
Director
Department of Building Inspection
This Information Sheet is subject to modification at any time. For the most current version, visit
our website at sfdbi.org.
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